Ted in NE-OH

Well-known Member
I have a heavy infestation of thistles on a hill with crown vetch. Is there a spray that will kill the thistles but not the crown vetch?
 
I doubt it, think both are broadleafs.

Thistles take at least two years to eradicate. I would spray in the spring and fall, so this fall is time to get on first round, then do both spring and fall next year. They spread from the roots and seeds so have to kill both.
 
Cut the thistles mid-August then spray the regrowth with Grazon in mid-September. You might have to re-treat the next spring but maybe not. The old Grazon contains Tordon so you won't grow any broadleaf plants there for several years because of the residual, only grass will grow there. If you have trees among the thistles the Tordon in the Grazon will transfer from the thistle roots to the tree roots, not good. There is a newer version of Grazon called Grazon next. I don''t think it contains Tordon but I'm not sure on that. Roundup will kill the thistles but it isn't as good at killing the roots as Grazon. Grazon will kill any broadleaf but the grass will be OK.
 
every once in a while someone will post make think of friend LeRoy and neighbor he often told an old timer told him mow your thistles on 4th of July next year you won't have any I think maybe he was on to something. I have tried it maybe it helped.
 
WE grazed sheep till it was easy to find the small ones and the big ones. We then cut them off with a shovel and hauled them off on a wagon. The stem was sprayed with brush killer.
 
Find a kid send him out with heavy siccors and a paper bag
thats what my old man did. I spent all day cutting flowers off so they wouldnt go to seed.
 
Oh, I assume you are talking about Canadian thistles. Canadian thistles spread by the root and by seed so they are tough to eradicate. You can cut the seeds off them till you are blue in the face but the roots will still be alive and will keep coming back. I have had Canadian thistle roots go under a building foundation and come up inside the building through the dirt floor. They will be spindly and yellow from the lack of light but that shows how tenacious the roots are. To kill them you have to use a herbicide that translocates to the roots.
 
Many years ago I had a neighbor tell me that they once had a horse that liked to eat the heads off Bull Thistles. He would go up to the thistle roll his lips back and get the head in his mouth and bite it off, and eat it.

Dusty
 
When I started out working at the farm as a kid one of the jobs I had was to follow the senior around (he was about 80 at the time) and chop out the thistles, and he seemed to know where they were.
 
In Indiana Canadian Thistle is considered a noxious weed and must be controlled by the land owner. If the landowner doesn’t do it the township trustee will do it for him and the costs will go on his next real estate tax bill.
 
From reading these forums I learned that to kill thistles you must spray when they are in in bloom to kill the roots. Not too many people do it because you do not get rid of the plant the first year. I tried it and I got rid of patches of thistles that had come up for years. Be sure to think of it as a root system, get all the edges. Forget about the seed, it only starts in disturbed ground. I quit using Roundup so I have not done it lately but it works good.
 
(quoted from post at 11:48:57 07/19/20) . . .Thistles take at least two years to eradicate . . . .
X2 When we moved to these 6 acres there were 4 or 5 thistle beds you could loose a horse in - plus plenty of single plants. We sprayed (specialist product name long forgotten), we de-headed before mowing, we pulled singletons up by hand - if you grab the base of the stem and tug up/down you can break its grip and pull it out root and all - like a carrot. We tried to get to them before they went to seed. Wife & I kept at it in spring for 3+ years before we really broke the back of it and then another 3+ yrs mopping up stragglers . . . but for the last 10 years I'm lucky to find more than 1 or 2 plants a year.
 
If you are trying to get rid of canada thistle i have had very good luck with Milestone herbicide by Dow.
 
Being on a twp board (for to long) we have a mandate to control noxious weeds. In MN, County and State are aggressive. Worst offenders are the absentee landowners who've bought an 80 or more as hunting ground. Usually living in the Twin Cities 150 miles from here. Federal DNR also does little. I've found the best for everything except Canada thistle is to spray the rosette in late fall, the leaves are broad and flat on the ground like a dandelion. This is year 1 of a 2 year plant and the leaves are pulling in nutrients for the winter and spring. In the spring the roots are sending nutrients up to the plant and pulling very little in. Summer spraying will kill the tops but not the roots. Kind of a waste as once it flowers it's dead. Not a lot of luck with Canada, but I have very little on the farm. My 2 bits Larry
 
Back in the day we had Bull thistles in our cattle pastures. We as kids had to cut them off at the base then we took a pinch of salt and put on the stem or stump. They did not come back.
My dad always planted alfalfa to get rid of Canadian thistles. The first cutting or second cutting always killed them.
Brian
 
46 years ago my family worked part time on a dr's farm that dr hated those thistles with a passion he paid me 10cents a piece for every one i dug up only condition was it had to have the roots attached.
 

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